Alexa Sandmann (right) and Deb DeBenedictis (left) with a teacher in Instanbul, Turkey, in 2010.
With Gratitude to Dr. Alexa Sandmann
Congratulations to Dr. Alexa Sandmann, my dear friend and the Director of NWP-KSU, as she retires from her role as NWP’s leader and her position as the Director of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University!
I have known Alexa for 15 years, and, as with all TCs who have worked with her, she has taught me a lot and has broadened my horizons by leaps and bounds.
A Mentor and Friend
I was privileged to work with her for several years as NWP-KSU Co-director, designing and facilitating our yearly Invitational Summer Institute. Alexa was previously the Director of the NWP site at University of Toledo, and was very involved in NWP at the national (and international) level. Who better to learn from!
Alexa has encouraged all of us to grow in our profession and take leadership roles—to present at local, state and national conferences; to write articles for state and national journals; and to initiate and implement our own workshop ideas, including an annual Summer Youth Writing Camp. She even took some of us to Istanbul, Turkey, to work alongside her at KSU’s former partner school, Avrupa, Kent State Koleji.
An Avid Writer and Reader
Alexa has made all NWP-KSU TCs better readers and writers. She always walked the talk—writing when we would write and taking the risks she would ask of us by sharing her poetry and prose. Alexa continues to be a walking library; she can enthusiastically book talk hundreds of titles of all genres, and for all ages. How could anyone not want to read every book she mentions!
Alexa has always been, and continues to be, generous with her knowledge and her time. She will return an email, text, or phone call promptly. She will find time to meet you for lunch or dinner. She will follow through with what she promises.
I am lucky to be part of “The Wandering Book Club,” to which Alexa also belongs. I get to see her monthly over dinner and book discussions (or in these times, over Zoom). I get to pick her brain on myriad topics. And I get to just have friendly conversations about our families and life during Covid.
Kent State University will surely miss Dr. Sandmann’s expertise. It is said that everyone is replaceable, but I don’t think that is true of Alexa. NWP-KSU is fortunate that she will always be one of us, and we only have to reach out to her, to see her smile and hear her delightful laugh.
Thanks, Alexa, for being you! Enjoy your next adventure!!
By: Deb DeBenedictis (TC 1997)
Congratulations to Dr. Alexa Sandmann, my dear friend and the Director of NWP-KSU, as she retires from her role as NWP’s leader and her position as the Director of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies at Kent State University!
I have known Alexa for 15 years, and, as with all TCs who have worked with her, she has taught me a lot and has broadened my horizons by leaps and bounds.
A Mentor and Friend
I was privileged to work with her for several years as NWP-KSU Co-director, designing and facilitating our yearly Invitational Summer Institute. Alexa was previously the Director of the NWP site at University of Toledo, and was very involved in NWP at the national (and international) level. Who better to learn from!
Alexa has encouraged all of us to grow in our profession and take leadership roles—to present at local, state and national conferences; to write articles for state and national journals; and to initiate and implement our own workshop ideas, including an annual Summer Youth Writing Camp. She even took some of us to Istanbul, Turkey, to work alongside her at KSU’s former partner school, Avrupa, Kent State Koleji.
An Avid Writer and Reader
Alexa has made all NWP-KSU TCs better readers and writers. She always walked the talk—writing when we would write and taking the risks she would ask of us by sharing her poetry and prose. Alexa continues to be a walking library; she can enthusiastically book talk hundreds of titles of all genres, and for all ages. How could anyone not want to read every book she mentions!
Alexa has always been, and continues to be, generous with her knowledge and her time. She will return an email, text, or phone call promptly. She will find time to meet you for lunch or dinner. She will follow through with what she promises.
I am lucky to be part of “The Wandering Book Club,” to which Alexa also belongs. I get to see her monthly over dinner and book discussions (or in these times, over Zoom). I get to pick her brain on myriad topics. And I get to just have friendly conversations about our families and life during Covid.
Kent State University will surely miss Dr. Sandmann’s expertise. It is said that everyone is replaceable, but I don’t think that is true of Alexa. NWP-KSU is fortunate that she will always be one of us, and we only have to reach out to her, to see her smile and hear her delightful laugh.
Thanks, Alexa, for being you! Enjoy your next adventure!!
By: Deb DeBenedictis (TC 1997)
At Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Alexa leads a session on powerful language with teachers.
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Alexa welcomes teachers to a professional development workshop at Kent State University in November 2019.
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